Split Awards: Rosetown

Congratulations to Rosetown Central High School for their exceptional performance of Split at the Saskatchewan Drama Association Region 6 Festival! They should be proud of all they accomplished, including returning from festival with the following awards:

• Spirit of the Festival: Jasmine Hanson
• Technical Certificate of Merit: Tyson Walker for lights
• Technical Award of Merit: Jasmine Hanson for set/props
• Acting Award of Merit: Liza Prudy for the role of Strange
• Best Stage Manager (Runner Up): McKenzie Forsyth
• Best Technical Crew (Runner Up)
• Best Overall Production (Runner Up)

Special thank you to director Camille Hounjet for her creativity and leadership. Way to go, Rosetown!

Vamp Ire Awards: Carrot River

Holy cow! Congratulations to Carrot River Jr/Sr High School for their exceptional performance of Vamp Ire at the Saskatchewan Drama Association Region 7 Festival. They came home with quite a haul, as follows:

• Certificates of Merit for Acting Excellence: Kristy Skalicky for the role of Debra and Samantha Baraniski for the role of Kaitlyn
• Certificate of Merit for Technical Excellence: Josie Dean for hair and make-up
• Performance Medal for Acting Excellence: Philip Wiens for the role of Mike
• Technical Medal for Technical Excellence: Lydia Sauder for lights
• Cheer Award for Outstanding Spirit: Taryn Freemantle
• Best Technical Production
• Bob Hinitt Award for Technical Excellence: Jory Chometsky for sound
• Mary Ellen Burgess Award (Best Actor or Actress) Runner Up: Taryn Freemantle for the role of Tina
• Mary Ellen Burgess Award Winner: Emmett Shortt for the role of Eddie
• Best Overall Production

Great job, everyone! I'll see you at Provincials in a couple weeks. Can't wait!

SDA Region 7: Carrot River

Congratulations to Carrot River Junior/Senior High School! Their production of
Vamp Ire won the Saskatchewan Drama Association Region 7 festival and has advanced to provincials in Regina, May 9-11.

SDA Region 1: Awards

Congratulations to Lampman High School for winning Best Overall Production for BOY MEETS GIRL: A YOUNG LOVE STORY. Runner-up to Best Overall Production went to THE PITCH from McNaughton High School.

I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT brought home acting certificates of merit for Nick Schmidt (Kyle) and Brook Zacharias (various roles), as well as technical certificates of merit for Megan Shirley (stage management) and Mariah Blohm (lights).

OUTSIDE THE BOX also acquired some hardware. Jillian Hietanen (Heart) won 1 of 4 acting medals, Marissa Owens (Brain) won a certificate of merit for acting, and Jordan Patriquin (prompting) and Brook Zacharias (kite flying) were awarded technical certificates of merit.

Congratulations to all of the participants at the festival for jobs well done. Next year in Carlyle!

SDA Region 1: Day 2

Three plays this afternoon, all comedies. Let's go through them together...

OUTSIDE THE BOX by Bradley Hayward - The Carlyle junior drama group really did a fantastic job, especially considering how many of the actors had never appeared on stage before, let alone a festival stage. I was especially impressed how focused the actors remained throughout, which was put to the test by having the entire cast on stage for the entire duration of the play. Directors Dean Zacharias and Justine Stephanson kept the movement interesting throughout and added to that bright, colourful costumes and simple, effective props. Dean and Justine are also incredible at building a strong team spirit among the actors, which is the most important thing because that is what will encourage these talented youngsters to stick with drama next year.

MAGIC FAIRY IN THE MICROWAVE by Dara Murphy - This was definitely one of my favorite plays presented all weekend. The production had extremely strong energy, ingenuity, creativity and gore. Yes, you read that correctly: gore. For those unfamiliar with this play, it's a bloody, violent, bizarre black comedy that I have been fond of ever since I read the script last year. I honestly thought I would never see a production, so I was thrilled to see it on the schedule here. I could fill a book with all of the inventive staging that was on display, and actors Carly Greening and Morgan Jones were especially memorable.

THE PITCH by Bryan Starchman - This comedy hit close to home because I have been in many offices of many film producers, trying to "pitch" my ideas as possible movies. This is easily the worst part of being a Hollywood screenwriter, and the main reason why I turned my attention to playwrighting. Well, this production brought back all of those horrible memories, which I guess means the play was successful. Will McGongal played the producer perfectly. So perfectly, in fact, that I wonder how he got it so right. In addition to a student, perhaps he moonlights as a mogul? Whatever his motivation, he nailed the slimy role.

Banquet and awards coming soon. Who will win? You never know. Believe me...you never know! More shortly...

SDA Region 1: Day 1

I planned to be more active on the blog this week, but I've spent a majority of it in a rental car, traveling from one side of the province to the other! Earlier this week I spent an entire day with the awesome, amazing, ENERGETIC students from Carrot River Junior/Senior High School. They are performing one of my plays, Vamp Ire, this weekend at the Region 7 SDA Festival and I was invited to lend a hand in the final days of rehearsal, and I also got to see their 2 other entries, Family Secrets and Check Please: Take 3. As always, Carrot River did an amazing job with all 3. I look forward to hearing how it all turns out this weekend. If only I could be 2 places at once! (Actually 6 places, since Unity, Rosetown, Glaslyn, Preeceville, Carrot River, Carlyle are all presenting plays of mine this weekend.)

Which leads me to the Region 1 SDA Festival, held in Lampman, which is where I am now. The first 5 plays today were all well received by the audience, and I will get to that more in a moment. But first of all, I have to congratulate the staff and students at Lampman High School for putting on such a terrific festival, jam packed with fun activities and creative spirit! It's so nice to see the participants from all of the schools interacting with one another and having such a great time. Also, the theatre facility at Lampman School is a wonderful place to watch plays. Having been to many less-than-stellar venues around the province, it's something I do not take for granted.

Now on to the plays I saw today...

THIS IS A TEST by Stephen Gregg - It had been a while since I had seen this old high school standby, and it was actually a nice treat to see it again after a few years without it. For a play that was written some time ago, it really does stand the test of time. Which is quite a feat, considering how teenagers lives are so different now than they were 20 years ago. Directed by a student, McKenzie Warriner, I think this was a perfect play selection for a first timer. It was so much fun to watch the Oxbow group in action. They have a lot of talent in the acting department, so their production was very funny from start to finish.

FAIRY TALES GO TO COURT by Steve and Laura Dingledine - Twisted fairy tales are not generally my favorite plays to watch, yet I have to say I was really entertained by this one. Again, Oxbow had a lot of young talent on the stage (I think this was a junior group?) and many of the actors played several roles, yet I was never quite sure who played what because they did such a good job discriminating between characters. I was particularly impressed by Rory Burnett as Father Time, as well as Rhys Jones and Eryn Stewart as Hansel and Gretel. They also had a lot of colourful costumes, and if anyone knows me well, they know how much I like colour on stage.

IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME by Don Zolidis - This is a tremendously funny vignette play, which was a phenomenal choice for this Arcola group because they have so many talented comedians and it gave them all the opportunity to play a variety of hysterical situations. Many of these students were in a play of mine last year (Note to Self) so it was great to see them stretch their wings and tackle such a deceptively complicated comedy. While there was not a single weak link among them, I thought Savanna Bryce and Riley James were real standouts. Great job!

I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT by Bradley Hayward - Gordon F. Kells High School in Carlyle has been a supporter of my work for many years, producing several of my plays at this very festival. They are always able to take my words and interpret them in ways I never imagined. Well, this year was no different. Yet there was something extra special about their production this year. It wasn't the set (which was fantastic), it wasn't the staging (which was incredible), and it wasn't the acting (which was phenomenal). What set this year's production apart is the emotional connection between all of the actors. Whether they knew it or not, they took on a huge responsibility when they decided to tackle this serious play about suicide, and they all rose to the occasion. They way the actors supported one another, encouraged one another, inspired one another is something I will learn from and take forward with me in the real world. Words cannot fully express how much the Carlyle drama students mean to me, as well as their directors, but I think they know. They know...

BOY MEETS GIRL: A YOUNG LOVE STORY by Sam Wolfson - Talk about shifting gears! From a drama about suicide to a comedy about puppy love. This clever, clever comedy tells of a romantic relationship, from start to finish, at the tender age of 5. It's sweet, it's funny, it's risqué. It was also fantastic! Maya Branyik-Thornton and Sam Paxman handily carried the entire play from lights up to lights down. Maya has so much energy it boggles my mind, and she is able to turn a single laugh into 3 or 4, simply with the turn of the head or flick of the wrist. Her comic timing is stellar. Then there was Sam, who had the difficult task of playing a boy convincingly. Wow, did she ever knock my socks off! It could not have been easy maintaining her own subdued rhythm next to Maya's vivacious one, not to mention carrying herself exactly like a young boy would. Two very impressive performances.

What made today extra special is that so many of my family members traveled many miles to share this experience with me. A huge thank you to Auntie Bev, Uncle Gordy, Auntie Joan, Laura, Patrick, Melissa, Colby, Auntie Barb, Vicki, Tarra, Kathaleen, Colton, Ethan, Amanda, Rikki, Ray and Heather for coming out to watch my play. It means more to me than you will ever know!

Well, that was it for today! There are 3 more plays tomorrow afternoon, and I will be sure to fill you in on those as well. Congratulations to everyone today for doing such an amazing job! There's a reason I come back to Region 1 whenever I can...

Clavet High Cast Photo

With the cast, crew, and directors of I Don't Want to Talk About It. They are amazing, each and every one of them. Congratulations!

SDA Region 11: Awards

It's hard to believe the SDA Region 11 Festival has drawn to a close. The awards have been handed out and bus loads of students are riding home as I type this, certainly with plenty to talk about on the way.

Best Overall Production went to Carlton Comprehensive for their production of Green Man. Runner-Up to Best Overall Production went to Walter Murray Collegiate for Cut. Both of these productions were terrific, so I'm not at all surprised by this outcome. Congratulations to both schools for a job well done!

Green Man arrived with a huge trailer for their enormous set, but will have to rent second one to transport home all of the other hardware they won in the technical categories. Holy cow, I don't think I've ever seen a production take home so many awards, in every category. Well done...and certainly well earned!

Clavet High School also came home with a number of awards for their production of I Don't Want to Talk About It. The Runner-Up to the Mary Ellen Burgess Award (for best actor or actress) went to Bailey Royer, Maia Stempien won 1 of 4 acting medals, Adam Tweidt and Tyson Brown won technical certificates of merit, and Brayden Bentley took home the Spirit of Festival Award (and after hearing his infectious laughter, it's easy to see why!). Congratulations to everyone from Clavet for doing my work justice and having such a huge impact on the audience. I know I heard many people say just how much their production moved them.

Well, that's it folks! Until next year, the curtain is closed...

SDA Region 11: Day 2

That's a wrap! The curtain has fallen on the final performance at this year's SDA Region 11 Festival. Here's a recap of the 2 plays from this afternoon.

TRIFLES by Susan Glaspell - I vaguely remember this play from a feminist theater course I took back in university, but I had never seen it, so it was nice to finally see it in action. Walter Murray's visual production of this play was particularly strong. I have a fondness for prairie settings, and this play is set in a small farmhouse, so I appreciated the attention to detail in every aspect of the set/costumes/props. They also used levels, as well as angles, very well. The performances were very subtle, which worked nicely in a poetic play such as this. In this case, less was more.

GLORIA MUNDI by Patricia Brow - This asylum drama was oddly similar to the first play of the afternoon, at least in theme, and also in pacing. This one was all about the performances, as the settings were kept to a very bare minimum. The actors made a lot of creative choices, leaving the audience guessing as to which (if any) of the characters have retained their sanity. I wish I was the adjudicator, if only to ask why one of the actors wore color, while the others were dressed in black and white. It was a subtle choice, but definitely a choice, and I would love to have known the thought process behind it. Whatever the reason, it was oddly effective, even if I can't quite put my finger on why. Or maybe it was a happy accident...perhaps I'll never know. What I do know is that the play started a lively dialogue among the students around me, which is exactly what theater is supposed to do.

Now the adjudicator has the tough job of narrowing the cast and crew lists down to a select few that will receive awards. When I'm adjudicating, I love the process of workshopping the plays with each group, but I do not envy the responsibility of assigning numerical value to each performance. Adjudicator Russ Ramsden certainly has many tough decisions to make, but whatever the outcome, his real contribution has been sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with each company, and from my discussions with a number of the groups, he has done just that...and more.

Just about an hour until the banquet ends and the awards ceremony begins. I know there are a lot of nervous students roaming the halls around me, so I'm sure they're excited to get to it. More on that this evening...

Clavet High Autographs

I asked the amazing students at Clavet High School to sign my program. For me, writing plays is not about awards, not about acclaim, not about money. Hearing from students who have been in my plays, knowing I have made a difference, is why I do what I do.

SDA Region 11: Day 1

Well, day 1 of the Region 11 SaskDrama Festival has come and gone and, boy, what a heavy day of theatre it was. When I was in high school, drama festivals usually consisted of more dramas than comedies; however, in the last few years of adjudicating I have noticed a growing trend toward comedy. I can't tell you how many festivals I've attended where all the productions were laffers. So it's quite a change of pace to see so many dramas, and I have to say that I enjoyed the change tremendously (despite being a playwright of primarily comedies). So here's a rundown of what struck me as particularly strong in the 5 plays I saw today.

I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT by Bradley Hayward (me!) - Clavet High School did a tremendous job bringing my words to life. Of all the plays I've written, this one is easily the most challenging, and Clavet handled its challenges extremely well. When I wrote the script, I deliberately left out any stage directions that were not absolutely necessary, so I had no idea what to expect when the lights came up. I was immediately thrilled by their choice to have the entire cast of 15 remain onstage for the entire play. This created a strong community among the characters and gave a powerful punch to the final moments of the play. I know my heart was thumping in my chest, wondering what was going to happen, and I wrote the darn thing! There were too many wonderful performances to single out any of them here, but I had the opportunity to sit down and have supper with the cast after the show, which was worth the trip from Toronto all by itself. I am honored to have had so many thoughtful, intelligent, and creative students work so hard to make a play of mine the very best it could be. I'm so proud of them all.

TRIGGERS by Riley McLellan - I always get excited when I attend a high school festival and see a play written (and in this case, also directed) by a student. I think it's important to give students as much creative freedom as they feel they are capable of, which is something Evan Hardy is known for. Not only are all of their entries student directed, but to have one that is also student written is a testement to a terrific drama department. Evan Hardy certainly has that, so I couldn't wait to see what this original play was going to be all about. The story was a serious one, about a troubled teenager and his fractured family. Many of the scenes were very raw; so much so that I have my fingers crossed they weren't autobiographical. But McLellan certainly got across the stark reality of what it's like to grow up in a family that's anything but functional. Oh, and did I mention that one of the actors was a dog? Yes, that's right...a real dog! I don't know who trained this beautiful Boxer, but Teal'c was the best behaved stage dog I've ever scene. She hit her marks and stayed quiet, which is often hard to achieve with human actors.

CUT by Ed Monk - I've seen this play many times, and even judged it on one occassion. For a few years it was one of the most popular one acts out there, but I had not seen it for some time, so it was great to revisit a play that's been lodged in the back of my brain for a few years. Walter Murray definitely knows how to produce a great comedy (their production of The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World remains one of the best productions I've ever seen), so I was not at all surprised to see them knock this one out of the park. Also, it was a nice relief to have a full out comedy amidst the serious plays before and after it. I was really struck by the chemistry among all of the actors. They had terrific comedy timing throughout, which if you know the play is difficult to pull off because the play itself stops and starts more than a dozen times over. I remembered a lot of the actors from last year, so it played a little bit like an "all-star" cast in ensemble roles. There was also a scene between 2 techies that comes out of nowhere and stops the show cold. I've seen this scene score and I've seen it fail. Well, it certainly scored this evening. Big laughs and applause on their exit. I just wish the playwright would have brought those 2 characters back at the end because they certainly deserve a big finish.

SGANARELLE by Moliere - This is one of those old chestnuts; a play that turns up on occassion, and has ever since it was written...which was decades and decades ago. Moliere was the master of farce, so I was expecting nothing but laughs, but Evan Hardy managed to sneak in some drama as well. The actor playing Sganarelle had an extremely strong stage presence, which could not have been easy considering he wore a mask throughout. Speaking of masks, several of the actors wore beautiful ones and I would love to speak with the director to see if they made them themselves. They really added a bizarre (and effective) atmosphere to the entire piece.

GREEN MAN by Don Nigro - Carlton Comprehensive is known for its huge production values and serious period dramas. This year was no different and, as always, the students rose to the occasion. It's not always easy to be the big production when many adjudicators promote a "less is more" agenda, but sometimes more is more and I love Carlton's commitment to pulling out all the stops. Oftentimes, however, the acting gets neglected in favor of stagecraft, but not so in this production. The small cast of 5 (compared to their crew of hundreds) worked as a very tight unit, starting small and building to a gripping climax. This play is definitely a slow burn, and one that requires patience, but the payoff is huge for those willing to go along for the ride. I was particularly impressed by the actor playing the father; a raging drunk with a hot temper. Probably the hardest thing for any high school actor is playing middle aged, but the actor playing the role pulled this off beautifully. Not only did he look an appropriate age, but he carried himself in such a manner that made him appear well beyond his years. He also had a nice variety of vocal expression, although that was also true of the rest of the cast.

I can't believe the festival is half over already! There are only 2 plays tomorrow, followed by the awards ceremony. Check back tomorrow for updates on those plays, as well as how it all shakes down.

Saskatoon: Region 11 Festival

Well, I'm back in my old stomping grounds for a couple of weeks! Growing up in Saskatchewan had its perks and its downfalls, but far and away the best thing for me (a drama geek then and still) was the annual Saskatchewan Drama Association one-act play festival. I would look forward to it all year long, and now here I am, back again for another year. Sometimes I'm just a spectator, other times an adjudicator, but this year I'm here as a playwright. Several schools in the province have so graciously chosen my plays to enter in their regional competitions, all hoping to advance to the provincial festival in May.

This weekend I'm in not-so-sunny Saskatoon for the Region 11 festival at Evan Hardy Collegiate. It's still really, really wintery up in these parts, which I must say was not a surprise when I got off the airplane. (I've been hearing about the waist high snowbanks on Facebook for weeks!) But what was a surprise was getting soaked from head to toe by a passing truck on my way to pick up a few groceries. Oh well, it's an interesting way to start what's certain to be an interesting weekend.

The festival kicks off Friday at 2pm with my play I Don't Want to Talk About It, presented by Clavet High School. I'm very excited to see what Clavet has in store for the audience. This play is open to interpretation, so anything is possible. And they kept all of their choices a secret, so I will be just as surprised as the rest of the audience. But what won't come as a surprise (again with the surprises!) is that I know it will be awesome. The students and directors at Clavet are hugely talented and I am ticked right down to my socks that I will have the opportunity to see them bring my words to life.

So long as I can snag internet access throughout the weekend, I'll be live tweeting the festival. So be sure to follow me at @haywardplays. I hope you'll get in on the action by using #sdafest in any of your tweets. I'll also be posting updates here on the blog, so be sure to check back. (A few of my playwright friends also have plays in the festival, so I'll be sending shout outs their way as well.)

Okay, time to pack it in for the night and get well rested for the busy weekend. Let the drama begin...

Epic Fail Photos

Here are a few fun photos from a production of Epic Fail by Mead High School in Mead, Nebraska.

Drama Festival Season

It's drama festival season in Saskatchewan again! Each year around this time the Saskatchewan Drama Association hosts 11 regional festivals around the province, with dozens of high schools competing for the opportunity to perform at the Provincial festival in May. This year I have several one-act plays being presented in various regions and I will be fortunate enough to be in attendance for a few of them.

On April 12th and 13th I'll be at the Region 11 Festival at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon to cheer on I Don't Want to Talk About It, being presented Clavet High School. This is the festival I adjudicated last year and let me tell you that the quality of productions in this region is incredible. This year, students from Clavet, Evan Hardy, and Walter Murray will be vying for a slot at Provincials. I hope to see a few familiar faces onstage and will be cheering them all on!

The weekend following, April 19th and 20th, I'll be at the Region 1 Festival at Lampman High School. This is my home festival -- the region I competed in as a teenager -- and I know from experience how tough the competition is. Plays from Lampman, Caryle, Arcola, Oxbow, and Moosomin will be in contention and all of them present extraordinary plays from year to year, so any one of them could take home the top prize. Gordon F. Kells High School in Carlyle will be presenting two of my plays this year; the seniors I Don't Want to Talk About It and the juniors Outside the Box. Carlyle has been extremely supportive of my work over the years (these are the 7th and 8th plays of mine they've produced), so I can't wait to see what they've come up with this year!

I'll be live tweeting both festivals, so be sure to follow me @haywardplays. And whether you're a student, parent, teacher, spectator, or actor, director, crew, friend, I'd love to see you join in on the fun! #sdafest

Also, if anyone reading this will be in Saskatoon or Lampman on the dates listed above, please let me know. I'd love to see you there, and I'm sure the students would appreciate as many people in attendance as possible to see all their hard work in action. This is my favorite time of year and I'd be thrilled to spend it with others who enjoy theater as much as I do!